A note on wildlife poisoning cases from Kerala, South India

Abstract

Wildlife poisoning is an important conservation threat for endangered species in India. There are no publications in the scientific literature that identify the specific poisons or chemicals involved in wildlife poisoning cases from the state of Kerala. In this report, all cases of wildlife mortality recorded between 2011 and 2013 at the office of the Assistant Forest Veterinary Officer, Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala were reviewed and cases where poisoning was considered as a differential diagnosis were identified. Specific poisons or chemicals were identified in three cases, while in a fourth, poisoning was determined to have occurred based on physical traces of the poison in gut contents. The poisons identified include carbofuran (a carbamate pesticide) in a bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata), warfarin (a rodenticide) in a mortality event involving four wild boars (Sus scrofa), endosulfan (an organochlorine pesticide) toxicity in a gaur (Bos gaurus) and imidacloprid (a neonicotinoid pesticide) toxicity in a wild adult Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). This communication thus reports for the first time on the specific chemical compounds identified in wildlife poisoning cases from Kerala state and argues for greater regulation of the sale and use of such toxic compounds in India.

Keywords: Kerala; carbofuran; endosulfan; neonicotinoid; poisoning; rodenticide; wildlife.

Fig. 1

Elephant (Elephas maximus) carcass found within a cardamom plantation, next to a demolished shed used to store pesticides. Masses of dead flies were found near the elephant carcass and inside the oral cavity (inset)

Fig. 2

a Ocular cyanosis in a bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata). b Dark purplish-blue granules of carbofuran mixed with gastric contents